Desperadoes in the Midnight Sun
by AndThatWasEnough
Summary: If someone had told me at the beginning of last summer that I'd end up in New York City with Sodapop Curtis at my side, I would've told them they were nuts. Then again, as Two-Bit said, maybe all of this was coming anyway. Sequel to 'Don't Think Twice' and companion piece to 'Witnessing It.'


**Author's Note: Hey y'all! New story here. I don't know what it is about Christmas, but the holidays just get me writing. I believe this is being published about one year after the first. So: Sequel to 'Don't Think Twice' and companion piece to 'Witnessing It.' This is actually a rewrite of a story of the same name that I published back in February, 2013.**

**Speaking of 'Witnessing It': I'm putting it on a bit of a hiatus for now. I know where I'm going with it, but I want to get this finished and out there first. I think it'll be beneficial to those reading the other story- this is the set-up.**

**Plenty of characters you guys will recognize. The story begins right after the end of the first one, and by the end of the chapter, we'll be just a few months behind 'Witnessing It.'**

**Without further ado, let's begin the story!**

**Happy reading. :)**

XXXXX

_June Tenth, 1967_

Twenty minutes after Two-Bit left me on the third day of summer, I took a bath. A real, actual bath in the claw foot bathtub in my father's master bathroom. I was trying to feel not sticky, not lovesick. I sunk down into the bubbles and got my hair all wet, resurfacing and taking in a large breath. My body felt limp from the affects of steam and hot water. My hair was gonna knot up real good, that's for sure.

But then I smiled to myself- he was gonna come back tomorrow. Early tomorrow. My imagination ran wild with the prospects; what would we be doing? Where would he take me?

So I was ready early the next day. In fact, I was probably ready too early. But when his crappy truck pulled up in front of my house, I couldn't help but grin and run out to him.

"You got it fixed!" I cried, hopping in. Two-Bit laughed.

"Sure did. Though I don't know how long this fix's gonna last for. Prolly oughta just spring for the new wheels, but that means getting a job, don't it?"

I smiled. "Yeah. But maybe a job wouldn't be so bad," I shrugged. Two-Bit shook his head.

"Can't be doin' that just yet. Now- the day is young, peach. Let's go."

The engine roared to life and we were off. It was kinda hot in the cab, making me wish we'd just taken my car so we could put the top down. Early morning heat. It would surely get ten times hotter by the afternoon, maybe earlier.

Two-Bit pulled up to the little grocery store that stood on the edge of town before you entered the suburbs. I raised my eyebrows.

"Don't get me wrong, I love being with you, Two-Bit, but I didn't think our first date would be at a grocery store."

Two-Bit snorted. I think, maybe, that I wear him out a little. I don't blame him. I've been a bit trying this past year, and I'm sure that I still am.

"You consider this a first?" He asked, almost incredulous. I nodded slowly.

"Well, yes. Officially, it's the first one."

He shook his head. "I don't think so. C'mon, I wanna grab a pack of cigarettes."

It's always a pack of cigarettes. I don't think I've ever seen Two-Bit without one. A lot of people smoke; my dad, Two-Bit and his friends, and just about everyone else. My question was whether or not he'd actually pay for them.

The grocery store was like a little mercantile. It was tiny, sold the odds and ends, and smelled awful. Like everything in the store was wet. I'd been in here before, but the smell just hits you as soon as you walk in. And the lighting's a little dim. I don't know if Two-Bit didn't mind or if he's just gotten used to it over the years because his face didn't twist up the way I know mine did.

"It's awful in here," I whispered. Two-Bit looked down at me.

"You ever been to Michigan?" He asked. I shook my head- no. "Well, if you're ever up 'round one of the lakes and you're in one of their li'l' grocery stores, they get this real bad smell to 'em, like it's just sittin in lake water."

I made a face. "Gross. You been in one."

"No, I just guessed." I swatted his upper arm and he laughed some. "Yeah, I been up there. My mom's sister lives there these days, and we visited her when I was...sixteen? Yeah, sounds about right. Right before I started junior year- first trip, that is."

Two-Bit grabbed his cigarettes and started walking towards the cash register to get in line. "Ya know, I should take you there someday. We can go swimmin and just have ourselves a marvelous time."

I smiled at that. "Long as we take my car. We can put the top down."

"Sounds like a fair deal to me, honey."

We were standing in line, and the guy in front of us turns his head. And he's scary-looking. He's a stranger to me then, but now that I know who he is, I know my original assessment of him was right. He was built like a brick shithouse and looked like trouble. The next year, we'd both cross his path again, but things would be much worse the second time around. I was about to get myself caught in something that I'd miss half of, and be expected to be there for the second. And I was not about to take sides again.

"Well, well. Two-Bit Mathews. Fancy seeing you here, boy."

Two-Bit pulled down his sunglasses just so he could see over them at into this guy's eyes. Two-Bit's lips tugged into a smirk.

"If it ain't my favorite lug!" He cried. "What're you doing here so early?"

This guy clearly wasn't very fast or very smart because he came back with, "Buyin some goddamn cigarettes, same as you."

Two-Bit gestured to me. "Hey, little pitchers have big ears, bud."

I narrowed my eyes at him, not liking what he was insinuating, but he didn't seem to notice. It was two years between us, and it wasn't like I was twelve or something. The big guy looked down at me.

"She looks young enough to be your sister, cradle robber."

"Funny. She's seventeen, and don't act like you know shit about my sister, Travers. I'd say it's you who really has problems with the girls right now."

The guy crossed his arms. "Shaddup. You don't know what the hell you're saying. Stay out of it."

But Two-Bit wouldn't. Not for long.

"Who is the girl, anyways?"

Two-Bit sighed, stepping up in line after...Travers? Whatever his name was. Today was a day where money was the currency, not bravado or mere stupidity.

"Bridget, Levon Travers. Levon, this is Bridget Stevens."

Levon and Two-Bit were staring daggers at each other, Levon's intense blue eyes reminding me of someone else I once knew. I was uncomfortable standing here watching them try to burn holes into each others' heads with their eyes, so I took a deep breath as if it was all I could do. Levon glanced over at me.

"Alright then, Mathews. The girl?"

He gestured to me as if to say I should just get the hell out of there. I wanted to, sorta. I almost felt as though I couldn't until Two-Bit told me to. Two-Bit didn't look at me when he said so, but he quickly followed up what Levon said with, "Bee, I'll meet you back at the truck."

I looked between them, nervous. "Alright. Nice meeting you, Levon."

I started backing up, then turned on my heel and started towards the door.

I stood besides the truck until Two-Bit came out. I figured he'd come with me, but he'd stayed inside for awhile and talked, I guess. They sure didn't seem to like each other. When Two-Bit finally did come out, his sunglasses were back over his eyes and he had a lit cigarette in his mouth.

"Here ya go, get on in," he said, and opened my door. I slid into the truck and waited for him to do the same.

"Who was that?" I asked. Two-Bit shook his head.

"Levon Travers. Local idiot, but he could knock you three ways to Sunday. Dropped outta school years ago."

"So he's a lot older than you."

Two-Bit shrugged. "Some. Not sure how much, don't really care."

I nodded. "How do you know him?"

"He's from the RK. Dangerous guys- I wouldn't touch one with a ten-foot pole if I didn't have to."

"If you didn't have to?" I repeated.

"Meaning I have to."

I felt surprise wash over me, quick like a flash and then gone again. I guess I thought maybe Two-Bit and the boys weren't like Shepard's gang...but maybe not. Fights are fights, and knowing Two-Bit, he goes out of his way to get into one. If only he kept his mouth shut.

"Well, what's the deal?" I asked. "You don't really have to, do you?"

Two-Bit shook his head. "It's not like that. It's...well, it's complicated. Has to do with territory some."

I snorted, actually started laughing some. "That's stupid," I spat. "What are you, jungle animals? Jesus, Two-Bit."

"It ain't stupid," Two-Bit insisted, briefly casting his eyes over to look at me. "And it's not just territory they're after." His tone was lilting.

"What else could they want?"

"What else do guys ever want?"

I threw up my hands. "Dunno. They wanna dodge the draft."

Two-But considered it, but shook his head. "Sure, yeah. I mean, I ain't exactly wanting my number to come up. But it's somethin else. You wouldn't understand," Two-Bit laughed.

I crossed my arms. I knew then. Girls. It was about the opposite sex.

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked.

Two-Bit just kept grinning and slowly shaking his head, like he knew something I did not. And that's something I absolutely hate.

"God, if it's just a girl, then-"

"It ain't '_just a girl_,' Bridget," Two-Bit said seriously. In fact, I shouldn't even be telling you any of this, ya know? It's touchy. It doesn't just have to do with a girl."

"Then what does it have to do with?" I cried.

I think I may have startled him a bit, because after he regained control of the truck, he glared at me.

"You sure you wanna know?"

"I wanna know," I insisted.

Two-Bit pulled off onto the side of the road so he could turn and look at me. "Bridget," he sighed. "They're black, 'kay? These people...the RK has a beef with them over one of their girls. It's a lot more than 'just a girl.' Now c'mon, let's forget about it. I wanna have a good day with you, honey."

I couldn't believe my ears. Yeah, it was charged. It was charged in this way-in this same way- everywhere, had been for awhile. This was a year ago when he told me this. And I can't say things have gotten any better around here. And he and Steve Randle sorta made things worse.

But Two-Bit likes to make believe that I don't know that.

XXXXX

_July seventh, 1968_

Evie Martin was staring at me and Missy as we all sat together in a booth in a tiny mom-and-pop diner. She was grinning wickedly, like she was wanting to stir up trouble. It wasn't a good look; I'd seen it before. Missy shifted uncomfortably in her seat next to me.

"Long time no see, Bee Stevens," she said sweetly. I grinned at her.

"Too long," I agreed, though it had really only been a couple months. I had very awkwardly accompanied her, Steve, and Two-Bit on a double date dominated by our male counterparts. Evie was fine and all, but we weren't exactly best friends or anything.

"Who's your friend?" She asked. I looked over at Missy, and then back to her.

"This is Missy," I introduced. "Evie, meet Missy- Miss, meet Evie Martin."

Missy grinned, but I could tell she was just being nice. "Hi, Evie," she said.

Evie took a sip from her coke, all cool and mysterious. Some of her lipstick had stained the straw. "Well, hey. Ya know, it was actually pretty fun when we got together a couple months ago, Bridget. We should do it again."

I smirked. "Oh, sure. But it wasn't really all that great, was it?"

Evie laughed. "Sure it was! You're a pretty groovy chick, Bee. When you're not being a bitch, that is." She gave me a knowing glance. "So we should do something."

"That would be fine," I agreed, trying to get her off it. I had really only come out so I could be with Missy before I left for New York.

Evie must've caught on to what I was doing because her smiled slipped and she said, "I meant tonight. You can bring Missy along. We'll all have a good time."

Missy looked skeptical.

"Trust me," Evie sang. "I have something planned anyways."

She stood up, raised an eyebrow at us, and Missy and I found ourselves following her out of the diner and out into the summer night. She looked at us from behind her shoulder.

"Y'all drive here yourselves?"

I shook my head. "Missy and I walked here from her place."

Evie nodded. "Alright. Y'all can ride with me."

We followed her to her car, which wasn't really hers: I recognized it as Steve Randle's. I suppose he let her drive it sometimes, which, knowing him, surprises me. Two-Bit doesn't let me drive the truck.

We drove in silence mostly, the radio was on and I could hear the tires sticking and unsticking to the road.

"Evie, where exactly are we going?" I asked.

Without looking over at me, she said, "I can't surprise you?"

"No," Missy added in. "I'd really rather know where we were going."

Evie and I looked at each other, and then at Missy through the rear view mirror. Poor girl had been relegated to the back seat. I raised my eyebrows and Evie raised one.

"Trust me," Evie said. "We're gonna have a real good time, Missy."

Missy was sweet. She was so sweet, in fact, that she couldn't bring herself to question Evie's motives, or why I wasn't questioning them. I should've been, for Missy's sake, and I was really considering it, too. But Evie pulled up at the bottom of the long drive to the country club, I internally freaked. I think Missy might've, too; just a bit.

"Y'all ready for a swim?" Evie grinned at the both of us and got out.

Thing is- yeah, technically, I could go for a swim. It was hot enough. But it was also dark and the country club was, well, closed.

"Shit, Evie! What're you planning on doing here?"

She rolled her eyes. "I forgot, you're little miss Junior Leaguer. It's no big deal, we won't get into trouble."

My jaw dropped. Missy was way closer to me than she had been before. As we stood at the bottom of the drive, staring up at the old Greek revival building at the top, I knew exactly which direction this night would take. I knew even before Evie said,

"'Kay you two. Strip."

Missy looked like she might cry. "Wait- what?" She cried. Evie laughed.

"We're kinda...streaking," she clarified. "C'mon, we're just gonna go up to the club pool and skinny dip. No biggie. Now- strip!"

Normally, this wasn't something I would be up for, but for some reason I wanted to impress this gal. I wanted her to accept me, think I'm good enough for her. Funny how it was just the other way around not too long ago. Long story short, I loosened my jeans and pulled them and my top off. Missy was slowly undressing next to me.

"Underwear too, Stevens."

Evie's voice rang in my ears as I stared down at myself, and in a moment of fearlessness and bravery, I was suddenly, completely naked.

And I felt suddenly, completely glorious. Like I was some goddess that wanted to be revered in all my naked glory. I was empowered. And I wanted my friends to feel empowered too.

"She's right, Miss," I said, looking over at her. "Lose 'em."

It was with a series of incredulous looks that the three of us were finally in our...natural state and making our way up the walk to the pool, clothes in hand and hopping the fence.

And the swim was even better than I thought it would be.

"We should do this all the time," Missy sighed, floating contentedly on her back. The sky was getting very dark.

"It'd get boring if we did it all the time," I said.

"Maybe just a couple times a week," Evie concluded.

We all hummed in contented agreement.

And then the sirens started.

"Aw, shit," I mumbled.

We were naked and in a public pool and this was not good.

"They prolly saw Steve's car out front," Evie said, her voice sounding kinda strangled.

Missy shot her a quick glance. "Does it make a difference whose car it is?"

Even I knew the answer to that. But Missy had no way of knowing. This is something Evie and I shared from that night, the knowledge of what really happened. So Steve Randle's car on this side of town? After what happened a couple months ago? It's gonna be a bad.

"We gotta spilt up," Evie snapped, ignoring Missy's question. "C'mon, let's go. Steve's gonna go apeshit!"

I would've responded, but they were already running. I was scrambling to get out of the pool, but part of me was petrified to. The other part knew I had to.

So. I got out and ran. Stupid decision: instead of running away, I ran towards the country club, jiggling doors and trying to get in. One of them flung open, almost hitting me and the face and definitely jamming my toes, and I ran to the women's locker room. The same one where I shower and change after a swim or a game of tennis.

The tile floor was cold against the bottoms of my feet. Fugging Evie and her plans. Lookit me now, Eve. I'm buck-naked in the restroom at the country club. Fantastic. Streaking is against the law. At least, voluntary streaking is. I'm not so sure what they do when you streak involuntarily.

To make it worse, the people here know me. I've been coming to this country club since the fall of '66 with my dad and my friends. If people find out, if Evie tells…

To put it simply, I'd be screwed.

Actually, I am screwed. Right now. As I stand in the women's bathroom. I have to get home somehow, and I can't get a ride. All my change is in my pants, which are with Evie. This could not get any worse. I repeat: This. Could. Not. Get. Any. Worse. I'm all for peace and love and rolling in the dirt, but streaking is going a little too far for me. Not like I really have a say in the matter, I just wish I did. I mean, something, anything…

Towels.

Bridget Stevens, you are a genius. A legend in your own time. I just have to make it back out to the pool, cover up, and hitch a ride home. Not exactly high-fashion, but maybe people will think I'm making some sort of grand statement. Maybe. I don't think I'm really cut-out for making grand statements. I'm too nervous, too polite.

Anyway.

I stuck my head outside of the stall, looking around to make sure no one was around. But of course, no one was around. It's the middle of the night. The only thing that ever goes late here is the annual Benefit, but that's at Christmastime. It's the summer right now, but I've already established that. Anyway, no one was around, so I took a deep breath and figured that it was now or wait for the janitor to find me in the morning. Dad wouldn't be too happy with that.

Fugging Evie!

I kept my head down, counting the tiles on the floor as I slowly made my way to the pool deck. My legs and arms had turned a bluish color after sitting in the bathroom for so long. It was at least twenty degrees cooler in the bathroom than it was outside, and when you've been spending pretty much all day in the sun, dong god-knows-what and just getting into all sorts of crap, it's not exactly something that feels good against your skin. I mean, it's worse than when the air conditioner in my house decides my parents and I would like it an even fifty-eight Fahrenheit. Not groovy.

Before I left the building, I looked out a few of the back windows towards the pool. The cops weren't out back, so I took that as a good sign. Maybe Evie had just reacted too fast, or maybe they had just towed Steve's car and left it at that. Either way, I was heading out. The nighttime summer air felt good against my skin as I stepped out onto the uncharacteristically quiet and empty pool deck. The pool was uncovered, just it had been when Evie and Missy had bailed on me, and the chairs were folded and the umbrellas were collapsed. It was quiet, the only things I could hear being cicadas and the occasional car passing by. It would've been nice if I weren't so naked. I scanned the deck for the hamper where the kept dirty towels, finding it tucked in a corner on the opposite side of the pool. I decided to make a mad dash for it, being careful of slick spots and puddles that had been there all day. I heaved out a sigh of relief when I found a few neglected, dirty towels sitting in the hamper, crying out in joy and releasing out my frustration.

"Screw you, Evie," I laughed, not caring that no one could hear me. I could feel a weight being lifted from my shoulders. Honestly, it felt better than getting on a good high, or even sex. But this isn't a story about sex, is it?

The towel was damp and uncomfortable against my warming skin, but I knew there weren't exactly a whole lot of other options, so that's the story of how I ended up thumbing a ride in a white pool towel on the side of east 85th.

"Ya need a ride?"

I wearily turned my head, and saw a royal blue Galaxie parked beside me. I knew that car.

"I do," I sighed. Jerry just nodded and opened my door, and I slid in.

We drove in silence for a little while. Jerry knew where he was going, so there was no need to give him directions. He'd been to my house many times, too many to count. Jerry was still as handsome as I remembered him, with his hazel eyes and light brown hair. But he'd grown it out some, and I knew now that it had a bit of a natural wave to it. Seeing him after so long actually made me feel bad for breaking his heart. He wasn't a bad guy, he really wasn't. He didn't really deserve what I did to him.

"How've you been?" Jerry asked, finally breaking the silence. I shrugged.

"Pretty good. You?"

"'Bout the same. I've been at Notre Dame, gettin ready to play ball in a few months. But you knew that already."

"Yeah," I sighed, remembering how he'd told me right before our senior year had ended that he had been accepted to Notre Dame, and how he was gonna become a lawyer. "One of the ladies my dad's girlfriend plays bridge with- her son goes to Georgetown, and she can't seem to shut up about how great his future career in politics is gonna be, how he's an aide to one of our idiot senators. Blech." I stuck my tongue out for emphasis, and Jerry laughed a bit.

"You've always known the score, Bee Stevens. You prolly been to some of those protests, huh? In Washington?"

I was a bit startled that Jerry had picked up on that, but he did know me pretty well. It wasn't exactly a complete surprise. It had happened once, early in the summer while my father, Viv, and I were out east, my father promoting something he'd written some article about...I wasn't terribly interested. But, before I knew it, I found something to do, and it involved signs and marching and chanting.

Two-Bit doesn't know.

"I have," I confirmed. "It's weird because this lady's always trying to set my up with her son, and I think of that, how he'll become like them." I bit my lip. "I'm guessing you have, too?"

"Yeah, I have. Theyretty intense, but… I dunno. I feel as though there's a lot going on that needs to be stopped, and I guess I feel as though it's my job to help stop it. Ya know what I mean? It's like, I never used to care what those guys did, and now it's all I think about."

"I know what you mean," I whispered, feeling the weight of his words. I knew Jerry was smart, but I never knew that he understood the things that I was into, and I never knew that he'd become like me. I don't even want to say it now. It feels weird.

But I guess we're hippies.

"So things have been pretty eventful then," I stated, knowing it was true. He nodded.

"Yeah, they have been. There's a lot to do, a lot of places to go. I'm amazed I let my mom wrangle me in to coming home this summer."

I bit my lip. "How long are you staying for?"

He grinned down at his lap. "Couple weeks. Then I gotta head back."

"Oh."

"Yeah.

"I'm glad though. Going to college- it's a really good thing."

I knew what he meant. The whole deferment thing. I mean, these days, if you said someone was "coming home," it usually meant that person was coming home from 'Nam. After you had that figured out, all you had left to learn was whether or not that person would be coming home on his own two feet, or in a casket. That's why Jerry and I did what we did. It was only a matter of time before someone we cared about got killed, and we all know that people that were cared about have been killed. It was the Line Theory at its best. The guys over there have no idea whether they're in the middle of their line, or if they're at the end of it. There isn't an in-between void in this thing.

"Of course," I repeated softly. Jerry sighed.

"I'm just so fuckin glad I got into a good school. That's why I applied early, ya know. The earlier a school accepts ya, the sooner you can get that pardon from going over there." Jerry paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Ya know, some people think I'm a coward. I ain't a goddamn coward, Bridget. You know that. I ain't a coward 'cuz I stick up for something I believe in." He punctuated the statement by slamming his fist down on the steering wheel.

"I know you're not a coward," I agreed. "Hell, you let guys run into you and knock you over every day, and that's just for sport."

Jerry smiled, but it wasn't as genuine this time.

"Yeah, that's true. But did you ever think that this game is just a sport for all those guys in the military? In the Capital? That's it's all just a game to them, that all those guys are just their pawns? I don't wanna be nobody's pawn, especially when it's somebody I don't know. Tell that lady that her son oughtta get his ass outta Washington while he can, before he becomes one of those good ol' boys who's got his head too far up his ass to know when enough's enough."

I smiled to myself. I thought of Viviane's friends, trying to set me up with their sons, boys who would become senators and lawyers and businessmen and etc., when the people I'd rather be with spend their time fighting against those people. Funny thing that Jerry was hoping to get his degree in pre-law. You'd think maybe it'd be something like… I dunno. I wanna be a music major. Maybe something more along the lines of that. Art history, maybe? No, Jerry was never really one to appreciate art, much less its history. Jer was always real into math. Maybe he should've become an engineer. But no matter how much the job makes, what would his parents think of him having such a blue-collar job? A music major could land me from anywhere between underground bars and Carnegie Hall.

"This is it."

Jerry idled in front of my house, and I looked over at it and then back at him. I exhaled slowly.

"Thanks. And Jerry?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, Bridget?"

I twirled one of my curls around my finger. "I'm sorry, Jerry." And I was. I felt it when I saw him at school, or around town.

He knew what I was sorry for. Jerry knew I meant that I was sorry for falling for Two-Bit, for not loving him, for going behind his back. Jerry nodded.

"Bridge under the water," he whispered. "Night, Bridget."

I took that as I sign that both the ride and the conversation were over, so I got out and snuck into the house, knowing my dad was going to go nuts when he saw me.

XXXXX

I was startled awake by a loud pounding on my door, the one that led out to the wraparound porch. I quietly made my way out of bed and over to the door. I can't say I was surprised when I saw Two-Bit on the other side of the door, I really can't. What I was surprised to see was the trail of blood coming down from his mouth, and that he was barely able to keep himself up.

"Bee," he said roughly. "You gotta lemme in, Bee."

I didn't even bother with responding, I just yanked him inside and had him sit down in the rocking chair. I flicked on a lamp.

"What happened, Two-Bit?" I asked, sitting myself on the ground next to him. He leaned his head back and ran a hand over his left leg. The blood kept running from his mouth.

"You have a nice night?" He asked.

I snorted and forgot my question for a split second. "For awhile there I did. It got a little tense though at the end."

"Oh? You'll have to tell me about it sometime." He paused. "It's been a real rainy summer, hasn't it?" He asked instead of answering. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, it has been. Now how about you tell me what you were doing out in it?"

Two-Bit nodded his head, then stood up in front of me, holding his left leg forward a bit. My eyes went wide with surprise. A large rip was in his jeans, and the surrounding area was bloodied. I put a hand across my heart.

"Oh, Two-Bit..."

"Bar fight," he interrupted. "That's what happened. And I didn't wanna go home and I didn't wanna bother Darry so I came here. Is that a problem?" I gawked at him.

"Of course it isn't!" I insisted. "Two-Bit, if you need me at all, you can come here whenever you need to. Do you hear me?" When he didn't respond, I asked again. "Two-Bit, do you understand that?"

"I understand."

I went into the bathroom and grabbed a few things for first aid, hoping that if he needed stitches he'd either go to the hospital or do them himself. I came back out and sat on the ground across from him, beginning to clean the cut. It didn't look that deep, but Two-Bit was squirming so bad that he made the job real hard.

"Could you sit still?" I whispered. He glared down at me.

"I'm tryin!" He grit out. "Anyways, it was a guy from the RK."

I looked up at him, surprised. "That's that gang, the one you and Steve-"

"Yeah," he cut in. "That one. And shoot, Bee, it isn't like it was all that bad. You an' Evie had nothin to worry about."

I snorted without a hint of amusement. "Sure, sure. You two have stirred up a helluva lot of trouble, Two-Bit. It's been over a year now."

He shook his head. "I know that! It was comin anyways."

"Maybe not," I insisted.

I finished cleaning and dressing the cut on his leg and moved to cleaning up the one on his lip. Two-Bit swore, but we were able to staunch the bleeding.

"I thought all this would be over," I sighed. "By now. And I hope it's done by the time I leave."

Two-Bit cast his eyes up at me. "Leave?" He repeated. "You're leaving?"

I wrung my hands nervously. "Well, yeah, Two-Bit. You know about the scholarship. I leave next week. But...I mean, I'll come back before the summer ends. It's just 'til the end of August, you know? Then we'll have another week together before school starts."

I was going on like a damned fool, but I couldn't help it. Two-Bit looked hurt, almost.

"You didn't tell me you were leavin' this early," he started. "You never told me that was part of it."

"Well, it is."

He blew out a long stream of air. "Oh, dear. Looks like I'mma have to rearrange my calendar then."

I raised my eyebrows. "What's on your calendar, exactly?" I asked. Two-Bit smirked.

"That is something which I do not plan to reveal, Miz Stevens," he drawled. "Forgive me."

"I forgive you," I said seriously.

"'Cuz you have something to do with it, see," Two-Bit continued.

"I do?"

"You do. It's important, Bridget."

I had it on good authority that what's important to Two-Bit might not exactly be important to anyone else. But as I considered it, I started to understand what he was getting at. I wanted nothing to do with the River Kings. I didn't want him or any of his friends to have anything to do with the River Kings. Hell, I could even go so far as to say I didn't want the Shepard gang or the Tigers to have anything to do with them. In the year since we came up against Levon Travers, I'd learned a lot about the gangs littered throughout the east side. I wasn't ready to do this again.

"I believe you," I insisted. "But I don't want any trouble to come from it. Ya hear?"

Two-Bit held up his hands in surrender. "You have my word."

They say a man's only as good as his word. Two-Bit was a good man, but I often don't trust a word he says.

XXXXX

AN: And I'm gonna leave you there for the first chapter.

Pardon typos. So, what'd you guys think? Make sure to let me know with a fav, follow, or (the most coveted and sought-after) a review!


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